Council Renames Street To Honor 'Senora Larosa'

May 06, 2008|By JOSH KOVNER; Courant Staff Writer

MIDDLETOWN — The common council Monday night renamed the street leading to the new Middletown High School in the memory of Christine LaRosa, a beloved Spanish teacher and student adviser who died suddenly in June 2007 at the age of 51.

Wilderman's Way will be renamed LaRosa Lane, greeting the first generation of students scheduled to enter the new, $106 million high school in September.

LaRosa, a former councilwoman, served on the building committee that helped put the high school project back on track.

"Senora LaRosa" spoke seven languages and addressed students in Spanish, whether they were in her class or not.

A deeply religious woman, she traveled to impoverished areas of Mexico each summer, teaching children who lived in cardboard shacks to read and write, and helping to build a school and dig latrines.

For 26 years as senior class adviser at Middletown High, she was the one who handed the diplomas to graduates and organized the festivities afterward.

"I know she would be very humbled and very honored by this," LaRosa's husband, Dan, told the council. "She loved this town, and she loved the children and the families of this town."

Council members, mindful of Lowery Wilderman's important contribution to the city school system, voted to name the traffic circle in front of the current Middletown High School after the longtime teacher and coach.

The current high school will become the middle school.

Councilman Vincent Loffredo noted that LaRosa served on more than 20 boards and commissions in the city.

After her death, Mayor Sebastian Giuliano called her "the quintessential daughter of Middletown."